In point of fact, there is no large
fish in the Euxine excepting the dolphin and the porpoise, and the
dolphin is a small variety; but as soon as you get into the outer
sea the big fishes are on the big scale. Furthermore, fish penetrate
into this sea for the purpose of breeding; for there are recesses
there favourable for spawning, and the fresh and exceptionally sweet
water has an invigorating effect upon the spawn. After spawning,
when the young fishes have attained some size, the parent fish swim
out of the Euxine immediately after the rising of the Pleiads. If
winter comes in with a southerly wind, they swim out with more or less
of deliberation; but, if a north wind be blowing, they swim out with
greater rapidity, from the fact that the breeze is favourable to their
own course. And, by the way, the young fish are caught about this time
in the neighbourhood of Byzantium very small in size, as might have
been expected from the shortness of their sojourn in the Euxine. The
shoals in general are visible both as they quit and enter the
Euxine. The trichiae, however, only can be caught during their
entry, but are never visible during their exit; in point of fact, when
a trichia is caught running outwards in the neighbourhood of
Byzantium, the fishermen are particularly careful to cleanse their
nets, as the circumstance is so singular and exceptional.
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